It's time to start the countdown
by oOMystiqueOo
Summary: The Hellmouth is open and Willow's spell goes wrong. Willow, Buffy, Giles and Xander finds themselves in a world where they don't belong. But when evil rises, new allies are made. still in progress
1. Chapter 1

A harry potter/buffy the vampire slayer crossover.

_disclaimer - I don't own anything (sigh) Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to the talented Joss Whedon, and the  
Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
This is merely my attempt to write down what goes on inside my head (:  
Please Read & Review_

Chapter 1.

------------------------------------------------------------

"BUFFY" Xander yelled. The vampire grabbed his arms and pushed them against the wall with one hand. It's face was distorted and fangs ready.

Xander kicked out into the air, trying to hit the vampire, but he was unsuccesful. He realized at once that he knew it. The vampire. Rick Maynard. The school bully. Well.. One of them.

"What Harris, no funny comments?" it snarled and put more pressure on his neck. That's it, he thought. The Hellmouth is open, and I die like this? Not cool. Not cool.

He tried to speak, but the hand on his throat prevented him from doing so.

For a single moment everything went black, and then he could breathe again.

"Xander! Are you alright?" Angel held out his hand, and helped him to his feet. Xander coughed and brushed off the dirt on his jacket.

"Yeah.. I think so. No puncture wounds right?"

He looked around. Everything looked quiet. The vampires that had bursted into the hall at school, had all vanished. Some back into the streets from which they came, and some had turned to dust.

"Something spooked them" Buffy said as she, Willow and Giles walked towards them

"Something spooked the big bad vampires? My guts are telling me that can't be good" Xander shook his head.

A blast sounded from the library, telling Xander that he was right.

"Oh, this is bad... very bad" Willow whispered.

Buffy turned towards her. "Willow, we need more time. Is there any way you can give us a few minuttes?"

"Buffy.. I.. I don't know.. you are talking about freezing persons. Or at least only the dead. That's not going to be easy.. I.. I.."

"Can you do it?"

"I might be able to work something out" Willow said, lowering her head. Her mind was racing. Deffiniatly not going to be easy.

"Alright. Xander can help you.."

Xander looked at Buffy, and he could almost hear her thoughts. _Willow, keep him away from the fight_. It wasn't fair.

"The rest of you.. come with me" Buffy continued..

Xander and Willow watched as the group run towards the library.

"So" Xander said. "What's the plan?"

Willow looked around. "Chemestry lab" she exclaimed as a new bang sounded and the walls shook.

"Come on Xander" She grabbed his arm and dragged him along.

* * *

"What exactly are we going to do here?" Xander asked. He was pushing stuff in front of the door. Just a precaution in case the vampires changes their minds, he thought.

Willow was opening almost every drawer and cupboards the room had, and quickly pulled vials and jars out, examed them and placed them on the floor.

She opened her bag and grabbed some candles. Lately she was always prepared.

"Place these in a circle" she ordered. Xander did as he was told while she pulled more stuff out of her bags. Roots, leaves, all sorts of weird stuff. She sure was something. He laughed quietly.

"What is so funny?" she asked, looking at him.

They looked into eachothers eyes. "Nothing" he whispered. "Nothing at all."

He sat down on the floor next to her and took her hand.

"Look Willow.. If this doesn't work.."

"It will"

"Just in case. I love you, you know that right?"

"Oh Xander. That is so sweet."

She turned her attention to the potion she was mixing. As it was ready, the lighted the candles.

"Go stand over there" she pointed to the back of the room, and he did.

Willow took a couple of deep breaths. "I love you too Xander" she told him over her shoulder. Xander nodded.

"Now. Get ready."

She closed her eyes and started chanting.

"Imparibus meritis, tria pendent corpora ramis,

dismas et Gesmas, media est devina potestas.

Gestas damnatur, Dismas ad astra levatur"

Xander watched his best friends say the spell. He didn't know what it would do, but if anyone could do it, it would be Willow.

He started panting. Was the room getting low on oxygyn? "Willow?" he panted.

"Gestas damnatur, Dismas ad astra levatur!" she repeated and an energy field sorrounded her. It stayed like a shield for what seemed like a few second and then it flew in every direction, hitting Xander before dissapearing through the walls.

* * *

Buffy, Angel and Giles bursted through the library door and eventhough they had seen the World on its edge several times, the sight shocked them.

There had been student in the room when the Hellmouth opened and those who hadn't been swallowed whole by the evil within, were splattered across the bookshelves. Buffy thought if perhaps being swallowed would hurt less.

"Dear God" she could hear Giles mutter. Yes Giles. If there is a time to pray, now would be it, she thought.

Creatures rose from the hole in the floor, and Buffy had no more times to think. She had to act. Without consulting with Angel and Giles, she charged with all her might.

If Willow were succesful, she would be able to freeze those dead in the room, which would give her a huge advantage. It would freeze Angel as well, but her and Giles would spend the time well.

A creature launched itself at her. It was a vampire, she knew as much. But it was so much stronger than usual, that she fell to the floor, aching.

She realized that she had dropped the stake as it pinned her to the floor. Luckily she was able to kick it off of her and reach the stake. As soon as it turned on her again, she made her move.

She almost missed the heart, but she was ready this time and as it launched itself at her again, she pierced the cold heart and the creature turned to dust.

Across the room she saw Giles fight with yet another vampire, but she wasn't worried. He seemed to be in control.

She turned her attention to Angel, he, like Giles, was fighting. It was fascinating, the grace with which he moved.

As a vampire turned to dust in front of him, he saw her looking at him and he smiled. None of them noticed he larger vampire before it was too late..

"Angel!" she screamed running towards him. The creature had Angel in a locked grip and a knife dangerously close to his heart.

As she was about to reach them, Willows energy field hit them, and all went black.

* * *

It was one of those sunny days where nothing seemed to be going wrong. Days like these are rare, Harry though. Nonexisting really. Today was a first.

He wasn't really sure if it should count as a warning of something worse to come. He had shared these thoughts with his two best friends. Ron and Hermione.

They had reacted just the way he expected.

Ron had taken it very serious and was now thinking about what this "worse" could be, and Hermione had told him to stop being so negative.

"It is a nice day. Can't you just enjoy it Harry?" she had asked him.

Of course she was right. He hadn't gotten detention, he had earned points in Charms class and there was no sight of Draco Malfoy. He should be thrilled. So why wasn't he?

"Strange isn't it?" Ron told them as they were on their way to the Quidditch field. "Like there is something in the air."

"Don't be silly Ronald" Hermione shook her head. "You guys. Nothing is ever good enough, is it?"

"Come on Hermione, can't you feel it?" Ron argued.

"I don't know what you are talking about Ron, I can't feel a thing."

"Can you two stop argueing for two seconds?" Harry sighed. "Let's just go the Quidditch match, alright?"

The three friends didn't talk as they joined the rest of the students on the tribune.

* * *

It was Ravenclaw and Huffelpuff against eachother, and they weren't far into the game before everyone could see that Ravenclaw would win, so it was quite a boring match.

"Not much of a game today huh?" Hagrid said a little too loud, making the other students stare at them.

"Look!" Neville yelled. "Cho's seen the snitch!"

On the field, Cho and the Huffelpuff Seeker where racing towards the snitch, but Harry wasn't paying any attention.

Ron had been talking about something in the air, and Harry could feel it too.

Even though the weather was warm, he felt chilly.

"AND CHO CHANG CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Lee Jordan yelled and the crowd cheered. "RAVENCLAW WINS!"

The wind suddenly blew stronger around them, and the sky lightened.

"Is a storm coming?" Ron asked, looking up.

"I don't think so," Harry had to yell over the sounds of the students talking together. From what he could hear, they were debating if they should go back to their commonroom.

He looked across the field and looked at the teachers.

Most of them seemed like themselves, but Albus Dumbledore was staring at the sky and looking wary. McGonagall followed his gaze.

The clouds were covering the sun, but the sky was as bright as it could possibly be.

The Headmaster rose to his feet and pointed his wand to his throat. Harry knew this spell. He had seen it been used at the Quidditch World Cup.

"I THINK IT WILL BE BEST IF WE CONTINUE..." Dumbledore began, but was interrupted by what sounded like thunder.

There was a flash of bright light, and Harry only had time to think one thing. The deatheaters.

But no.

Everything looked normal again. The weather was back to what it had been, and the strangeness in the air had vanished. The only thing that didn't belong, was the four figures lying on the ground beneath them.

* * *

_The light. So bright. My head, she thought, it hurts so much. What had gone wrong? Was she alone? Where was she?_

She could hear voices around her. Questions. She wanted to answer, but her throat was so dry. I am lucky if I can ever speak again, she thought.

She blinked a few times, and she felt a hand helping her to sit. She could smell something. It smelled good and she drank eagerly from the cup that was being held to her mouth.

At once, her head didn't hurt, her throat wasn't dry and the light didn't seem quite as bright.

She took her chance and opened her eyes.

The piercing blue eyes that looked down at her, were kind. She had never seen a person with an actual twinkle in their eye, but this person had just that..

"We are glad you decided to come around." he smiled and she smiled back at him.

"Poppy, perhaps our guest could use a little more to drink" he told the lady who was standing next to them.

She drank a little more and told them thanks.

"What is your name my dear?" he asked her kindly.

"Willow," she said. "Willow Rosenberg. Where are my friends?"

She had barely spoken before Buffy, Xander and Giles stepped into the room.

"Thank God you are alright Willow, we thought.." Giles started but stopped himself midsentence, shaking his head."

"As you can see miss Rosenberg, your friends are doing just fine. It looks like you were the one who needed most mending." the old man beside her said.

Willow looked at the people she loved so much. They looked worried. Was she hurt badly?

"What happened?" she asked Buffy, but she didn't answer her. Her eyes were red. Had she been crying. That's when she noticed that someone was missing.

"Buffy.. where is Angel?"

* * *

Buffy, Xander and Giles were sitting on the edge of Willow's bed. Buffy was explaining about what had happened in the library up until Willow's spell had hit them.

"I am so sorry guys" Willow told them. She was still looking at Buffy, who had said nothing when she asked her about Angel.

"Don't fret Will. The wizard dude here says we'll be fine" Xander encouraged her, and patted her arm.

"Mr. Harris, I would prefer if you called me by my name" the man giggled. "My name is Albus Dumbledore."

"Wizard?" Willow asked.

"I am indeed a wizard" Dumbledore said. "And this is Hogwarts. A school of witchcraft and wizardry. From what your friends have told me, you are a witch as well miss Rosenberg. A very talented one apparently." he lifted an eyebrow, examining her.

"Giles. What is going on?"

Willow could feel her body beginning to go into a panic mode. Her heart was beating faster.

"Well, you see," Giles took off his glasses and used his shirt to clean them. It was a bad habit. "It would seem like, insted of you freezing all the dead in the room, you sent the living into another world."

"Oh no" Willow moaned.

"Look on the bright side Willow" Xander said. Everyone turned their head in his direction. "I didn't say I knew what the bright side was" he shrugged.

"I think you should let miss Rosenberg rest for a while. In the meantime, you should get something to eat," Dumbledore said, walking towards the door.

Buffy kissed Willow on the cheek. "Just make sure you get better okay?"

Xander patted her hand. "Yeah.. Sleep well Will. I'll see you tomorrow."

They both walked over to Dumbledore, but Giles stayed behind.

"I will be right there" he told them.

When they had left, Giles laid his hand on Willow's arm.

"Is he dead?" Willow asked, refering to Angel.

Giles shrugged. "I am not sure. I don't think that he is, but then again, everything went to fast."

He smiled at her. "But you don't have to worry about that now. You just need to get well."

* * *

He kissed her on the forehead.

As Giles had left to join the others, she laid her head on the pillow again. Willow would never have thought just how much the spell would make her tired, and within a few seconds, she feel asleep


	2. Chapter 2

A harry potter/buffy the vampire slayer crossover.

_disclaimer - I don't own anything (sigh) Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to the talented Joss Whedon, and the  
Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
This is merely my attempt to write down what goes on inside my head (:  
Please Read & Review_

Chapter 2.

Buffy, Xander and Giles were sitting in the Great Hall with Dumbledore and some of the professors. Food had appeared in front of them, trays refilling everytime they took something.

"This is so weird... and yet, so awesome" Xander exclaimed while grabbing yet another corn-dog.

Giles looked at him sternly. "Don't get used to it Xander. As soon as Willow is ready, she will do the spell again, so we can get home."

"I am afraid it won't be so easy" Dumbledore told them. Up until now, they hadn't really paid any attention to the people who sat at the table.

Dumbledore, they already knew. A tight-up looking lady was sitting next to him, listening closely.

Next to the lady sat a very small man. He too was listening, but also trying desperately to look over the table at the newcomers.

A few of them were talking amongst eachother, but Buffy was chocked to see one of them stare directly at her. ¨

He wasn't exactly looking happy. Actually he looked damn angry. His greasy black hair almost covered his just as black eyes.

The few seconds they had eye contact spooked her and she reminded herself to stay far away from him while they had to stay in the castle.

She removed her gaze from him to look at Dumbledore

"What do you mean?" she asked him. _This is better.. His eyes are so gentle._

"Well ms. Summers. The spell ms. Rosenberg cast obviously didn't go the way it should." He turned to the small teacher.

"Ah.. Yes.. Well... " The small teacher started. He seemed very nervous and his eyes flickered to Dumbledore. _This is bad new.. Very bad news._

"The spell your friend did is unknown in this world. I have never heard of it."

It was clearly difficult for the wizard to admit that there were spells out there he didn't know of.

"We have no books that contains magic like that. Very powerful. Even if she can remember the words she said, how can you be sure you will not end up somewhere comepletely different. And take us with you?" The wizard blabbed.

He was right of course. Buffy hadn't thought of that.

"Perhaps we shall talk this over with ms. Rosenberg when she is feeling better" Dumbledore said and got to his feet.

"Now, I think we shall let our guests eat in peace. Severus, can I talk with you in my office?"

The dark haired man nodded and left the Great Hall along with the other professors.

"What do you think is happening at Sunnydale?" Xander asked quietly. Suddenly he wasn't as hungry.

Giles shook his head slowly as to get rid of a bad memory. "Nothing, I hope . I don't even want to think about it."

Buffy got to her feet. "There is nothing we can do about that now." She looked around the hall trying to take in all the impressions.

"Until Willow or someone else comes up with a spell to send us back, I guess all we can do is try to fit in here."

"Yeah.. that won't be difficult at all" Xander sighed. He was poking at the food on his plate.

Giles reached over and grabbed the fork, removing it from Xander's hand. "We will do our best" he told him.

Xander flashed a big fake smile at the man beside him, saluting him. "Yes Sir!"

Giles shook his head at Xander and sighed.

Buffy shrugged and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Xander asked.

The slayer looked back at the two men.

Her best friend and her Watcher.

She felt sorry for them. None of them would have an easy time.

Somehow, she felt that this world would feel more natural to a witch and a slayer.

"I am going to see Willow. You two go get some sleep, I will see you tomorrow."

-------------------------------

On her way to the hospital wing, Buffy took the chance to see a bit of the castle. _I might as well check out where I'm surposed to live for a while._

As she strolled down the halls, she let her hands glide over the walls to feel the bricks. A castle. I'm in a freaking castle, she thought. And it's a school as well. For witches and wizards.

The people on the paintings were moving around, whispering in the dark. _Out of bed. Not a student. Mudbloods. _

Dumbledore had warned them that nothing would be like they were used to, and Buffy had seen some pretty freaky stuff.

She couldn't believe how something like this could possibly chock her.

She chose to ignore them, not understanding half of what they said anyway.

All the students were in their beds, getting a good night sleep.

They had asked questions of course, seeing them crash from the sky at that game they were watching, and she wasn't looking forward to having them on her back the next morning.

There was a bench pressed again the wall and she went to sit down for a while.

As she leaned her head against the wall, all the sadness that had bottled up in her, appeared.

Her eyes filled with tears and her heart beat faster.

Sitting there sobbing, she thought about Angel. His eyes, as the knife was about to penetrate his heart, was full of, not fear, but his love for her.

Buffy's hands clutched at her heart. Broken.

_Love.. you are such a loser. That was never love._

She lifted her head. Who was there? She stood up and walked around.

_Do you really think that he loved you? Fool.. He is a vampire!_

"Who is there?" buffy called out. The hall was dark, but it was light enough to see that she was alone. The paintings stared at her.

"Show yourself!" Buffy yelled.

A painting, portraying a tea party, women in fancy dresses glared at the blond haired girl.

"Who are you talking to my dear?" one of them dared ask.

Buffy looked at the painting. "did one of you talk to me before?" she asked them.

All the women shook their heads. They were being truthful. So who had said something?

"I need to get out of here" Buffy whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

_That's it... Run. Hide. _

Once more, she checked the halls. But she was alone. All alone.

Tears began to flow again as she went to the hospital wing.

---------------------------------------

"Hey Buff" Willow smiled as she saw her friend come through the door. "What are you doing here?"

Buffy ignored her question and went to sit on the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling? Have you gotten anything to eat? Any idea when you will get out of here?"

"Woah Buffy.. easy on the questions," Willow grinned. "I am fine thank you, yes I did eat and Madam Pomfrey thinks I can join you tomorrow."

Buffy nodded and managed to smile to her friend.

"There are some weird ass people here huh?" Willow asked. She had laid her head on the pillow again and her red hair was a sharp contrast to the white satin. She closed her eyes.

"Dumbledore and this black haired guy were here a minute ago, asking me about the spell. It's strange. I don't really remember it."

"At least you didn't go all dark and veiny"

Willow laughed. "No. None of that stuff."

They were both quiet for a few minutes. Outside, the rain quietly fell and though the sound of it hitting the ground and windows was faint, it was there.

Soothing.

Willow opened her eyes slightly to find her friend crying.

"Oh.. Buffy. What's wrong?" she asked. She sat up in the bed. It hurt a bit, but she would deal with that later.

Buffy shook her head. "All is fine. This place is just getting to me, ya know?"

She could tell from Willow's expression that she didn't believe her.

"Truly. I am fine" she wiped her tears away and smiled. "see.. all is good."

The forcefulness of Willows hug was indiscussionable. It was awkward and nice at the same time.

The two girls would sit up and talk most of the night, but as time turned about three at night, Buffy would lie down next to her best friend and fall asleep. It was comforting, not being alone on the first night at this strange place.

_"You can't stop this!"_

_"Yeah, I get that. It's just, where else am I gonna go? You've been my best friend my whole life. World gonna end.. where else would I want to be?_

_"Is this the master plan? You're going to stop me by telling me you love me?_

_"Well, I was going to walk you off a cliff and hand you an anvil, but.. it seemed kinda cartoony._

_"Still making jokes."_

_"I'm not joking. I know you're in pain. I can't imagine the pain you're in. And I know you're about to do something apocalyptically evil and stupid, and hey. I still want to hang. **You're Willow.**_

_"Don't call me that!"_

_"First day of kindergarten. You cried because you broke the yellow crayon, and you were too afraid to tell anyone. You've come pretty far, ending the world, not a terrific notion. But the thing is? Yeah, I love you. I loved crayon-breaky Willow and I love... scary veiny Willow. So if I'm going out, it's here. If you wanna kill the world? Well, then start with me. I've earned that."_

_"You think I won't?!"_

_"It doesn't matter. I'll still love you."_

_"SHUT UP!"_

As the spell hit and blood splattered from the chest, Willow and Xander opened their eyes at the same time, waking up from a nightmare.

_Buffy and Giles were standing in the workout room at the Magic Shop, Giles holding up a large piece of wood, Buffy kicking it in two._

_"Good. Good" Giles said._

_"I feel like I should.. bow, or.. have honor or something."_

_"It may seem hokey, but we need to work on precision and concentration as much as power. We're still not sure what we're facing."_

_"Oh, you'll figure it out. I'm just worried this whole session's gonna turn into some training montage from an 80's movie."_

_"Ah. Well, if we hear any inspirational power chords, we'll just lie down until they go away. Anyway, I don't think we need to work that much on your strength."_

_"Yeah, I'm pretty spry for a corpse."_

_Giles looked unhappy as the scene changed and they discussed how to save Dawn from Sweet and his minions._

_"Buffy's going alone."_

_"You're really not coming."_

_"It's up to you, Buffy."_

_"What do you expect me to do?"_

_"Your best."_

As dream-Buffy marched out of the Magic Shop, Buffy and Giles opened their eyes at the same time, waking up from bad memories.

.......................

Giles and Xander had joined the students for breakfast the following morning. They were both looking tired and none of them would speak.

"Are you going to eat that?" a boy asked. Xander turned his head to look at him. He was very tall, even though he was sitting down, there was no doubt. His hair was bright red and orangeish and freckles covered most of his nose and cheeks. There was a sort of radient glow coming from him. Now that he though of it, a couple of the kids at the table kind of looked like him.

"No.. Go ahead." Xander said and the boy grabbed the sausage from his plate.

"Ronald.. That is discusting" A girl told the boy. She was obviously annoyed. Her bushy hair covered most of her face when she leaned down to pick a book out of her bad, and she brushed it away in one swift movement. She handed it to the boy next to her and they were talking quietly together.

The boy's hair was black and shaggy. His glasses sat crooked on his nose, and a scar shaped like a lightnening was centered on his forehead.

Xander took a few minutes to look around the Hall. It was so different than the day before, being all empty. Full of students didn't make it seem smaller, actually, it seemed bigger somehow.

Dumbledore and that lady, _what was her name, _had told them that the school consisted of four houses. He was sitting at the Gryffin one.. _Hmm.. is that the right name? Oh well.._

Giles was staring at the ceiling. Or lack of it. Insted of there being a roof, there were clouds, white and fluffy like pillows and the sun shone down on them. _Beautiful._

"Hey guys" said a voice close to them.

"Willow!" Giles exclaimed. She was looking better, though tired. Buffy was helping her sit at the table.

Willow's body ached as she placed herself next to him. _No, really ms. Pomfrey, I feel fine. No pain at all._

She quickly grabbed an apple and took a bite. The juices drippeled down her chin and she wiped it away with the back of her hand, shooting her friends an apologizing glance.

"I'm hungry" she shrugged.

Xander smiled. It was nice having her back to normal. The magic stuff had honestly freaked him out. For a second he had seen her inner darkness. The darkness that almost left the world in ruins.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," the bushy haired girl said to them. The girl had obviously been waiting to say that, but apparently she wanted to wait until they were all there.

"I am Hermione. This is Harry.." she pointed to black haired boy next to her. "..and this is Ron" she said and now pointed to the red haired boy.

"Hi!" the boy named ron said, his mouth full of food.

"Really Ron.. That IS discusting" she sneered at him.

"It's nice to meet you" Buffy said to them.

While the students, teachers and the guests ate their breakfast, Harry, Ron and Hermione told their visitors about the school and the teachers. How magic worked in their world and who they should look out for.

Buffy had already, just by walking from the door to the table, noticed a couple of students she would keep an eye on.

Hermione was talking with Willow, Giles and Buffy about spells and books while Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch with Xander.

"Ah.. Professor McGonagall" Hermione said and looked at the lady standing behind Buffy. It was the stern looking witch from the day before.

"Ms. Rosenberg. Dumbledore would like to see you and your friends in his office when the students go to their classes." without waiting for a reply, she turned around and left.

"Well..." Xander exclaimed. "I surpose that meant we don't get a choice?"

--------------------------------------

**Alright.. so that was the end of this chapter. I know it might have been a little boring, but we have to get past the boring stuff before we can get to the good stuff :D**

**It's important for me to keep them in character, and I hope that is working. However, we all know strange things can happen in both universes (:**


	3. Chapter 3

A harry potter/buffy the vampire slayer crossover.

_disclaimer - I don't own anything (sigh) Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to the talented Joss Whedon, and the  
Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
This is merely my attempt to write down what goes on inside my head (:  
Please Read & Review_

Chapter 3.

Dumbledore was sitting in his office, taking in the stuff that had happened during the past 24 hours.

When the sky had lit up at the Quidditch match, he, like many of the students, had thought of the deatheaters.

It surprised him, that he wasn't prepared for an attack.

Not here, not now, Dumbledore had thought. Not even Voldemort would risk killing pureblood children.

When he had seen the figures lying on the ground beneath them, he became perhaps even more worried. The Hogwarts grounds didn't allow anyone to apparate within them.

As they brought the red haired girl to the hospital wing, the blonde quickly told what had happened.

Somehow she didn't even care about telling them that a spell had sent them there. _Do they already know about the wizarding world? _

Dumbledore couldn't imagine the young man being any sort of wizard. No particular reason. He just couldn't.

The blonde woman looked strong, even though she was crying, and the man looked wise. He could easily be a professor.

When the injured girl was under Poppy's care, Dumbledore had brought their visitors to a classroom nearby.

The girl, Buffy was her name, introduced them, and told their story.

They had come from Sunnydale, the Hellmouth was open and they had to find their way back to destoy it.

Willow, the red haired girl, had cast a spell to freeze the undead but it had sent them here. She didn't sound as if she blamed the girl.

Dumbledore had held up his hand to stop her ranting.

"I am afraid that I have never heard of a Sunnydale." Eventhough he couldn't admit to know every town in the world, he was sure he would know of a place with such evil energy.

He had told them about Hogwarts. He wasn't worried about telling them, since they obviously believed in magic.

And one of them was even a witch.

They were confused. He understood that, so was he.

Confused... and scared.

If they had actually travelled from another world, it would have required some very complicated magic.

Since the witch was the injured on of the bunch, he could only imagine what it had done to her. He had never heard of such magic.

Severus and himself had visited her late in the evening to talk with her alone, but she remembered nothing about the spell.

_Back to reality, _he thought. He had asked them to come to his office this morning, and he was now waiting for them to arrive.

He wanted to talk with them about their stay at the castle.

Until they had discovered a way to send them back to their world, they would have to live at Hogwarts.

The youngsters would be able to join the student's classes if they wished.

That's when there was a knock on the door and the four guests entered his office.

"Please. Take a seat" Dumbledore told them and pointed to the four large comfortable chairs in front of his desk.

All four of them sat down and waited for the headmaster to speak.

Albus Brian Wulfric Dumbledore took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he might hear.

"First of all.. I would like for you to tell me little more about this Hellmouth you spoke of."

Xander looked down to avoid the professor's gaze.

Willow folded her hands on her laps and looked at Buffy, and Giles were looking around the office.

Buffy realized she would have to be the one to explain. I guess it's only fair, she thought. _I am the slayer after all_.

In fifteen minutes, Buffy told about the First Evil and how they had actually beat it once.

Things were different this time around. Even alot of the vampires were afraid of what was coming.

An all overshadowing evil that would swallow Sunnydale from within.

Really, Sunnydale was just a bump in the road to a complete hell.

It worried Dumbledore just how calmly the girl was speaking about it. There was no panic in her voice. She must be very strong, he thought.

"Thank you ms. Summers" he told her and sighed. "I am sorry to hear of your misfortune. It is a very unfortunate situation you have landed in, and we will of course try our best to get you home."

Buffy nodded. She trusted him.

She trusted him to be honest with them, and she knew he would. She could tell, just be looking into his sparkly blue eyes.

"Ms. Rosenberg." As he said her name, Willow focused her gaze on his. Her fingers were twitching in her lap.

"I am sorry to ask once again, but do you remember anything about the spell you cast?"

_He should yell at me. Make me remember. Tell me to remember!_

"No, I am afraid not" Willow muttered. "All I remember was a feeling of great power," she saw in the corner of her eyes, her friends look at her.

Thinking, fearing what she feared herself.

Dumbledore nodded. "I see."

_You have no idea. You can't even imagine, _they all thought.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore told them about his plan, and they all agreed.

Willow would study incantations with professor Flitwick and potions with professor Snape. She didn't know Flitwick yet, but she had met Snape when he and Dumbledore had visited her in the hospital wing.

He had been quiet and angry looking, and by what she had overheard in the halls, he was not a nice person.

Giles and Xander would have access to every book in the library, where they might be able to find more information on their situation.

The idea of full access to the books appealled very much to Giles. Xander however, wasn't quite as happy.

"Ms. Summers, you will of course have the same oppotunities." Dumbledore told her. "You are all welcome to take any classes you wish, and of course ask our help in any situation" he assured them.

"Thank you professor." Buffy said and then turned her attention to Giles.

"I surpose we will still train the slayer stuff?"

"Of course" Giles said. _Had she really thought they wouldn't?_

"Well.. I guess everything is set then," the professor said and smiled.

"I have arranged for you to stay in the Gryffindor house. Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley are Head Girl and Boy. They will make sure you are comfortable. Although I would count more on Ms. Granger if I were you," he grinned widely.

----------------

"I don't think this is right," Ron complained, looking down at his Potions homework.

The 6th year students had a free period, and the three friends were spending it making their Potions quiz. Hermione's idea.

"Could you check and see if I have the answers right?" he was asking his friend who had finished hers twenty minutes earlier.

"I am not going to do your homeworks for you Ron," she told him.

Ron Weasley, sixteen years old and madly in love with the girl in front of him, blushed so his cheeks almost were as red as his hair.

"I didn't ask of you to do them for me," he muttered.

He scribbled down a few notes on the parchment before Hermione snatched it from his hands and began correcting it.

Ron smiled and leaned back to relax.

"Where do you think those people will be staying?"

"In here I suppose," Harry said, looking up from his paper.

"They were sitting at the Gryffindor table this morning, so I think Dumbledore might have placed them here."

Hermione smiled, still looking at the assignment in front of her. "It'll be nice having someone around who's interested in books."

"Oh please.. The only one of them that seemed interested in books was the old guy. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a professor." Ron grinned.

"That is not true," Hermione exclaimed. "Willow was interested as well."

Harry shrugged. "She kinda has to be, doesn't she? She was the one that sent them here."

"I was," a voice behind them sounded. Her voice was neutral and Harry couldn't detect if she had taken it as an offence.

"I didn't mean..." he started but Willow held up her hand, telling him not to speak.

"It's alright Harry." she smiled and Harry couldn't help but smile back.

As she stood there, eyes glowing, hair shining, there was the most positive energy around her.

Her three friends entered the room behind her.

"So this is where we'll stay huh?" Buffy said, mostly to herself, and checked out the room. She had never seen anything quite like it.

The Gryffindor colours, red and gold, were dominant. The fire in the fireplace was lightening up the room, but it provided no heat at the moment.

The room was warm enough.

"It's nice" she nodded to give her approval.

"Yes yes.. it's is great, now if you don't mind.. could any of you show me where the library is?" Giles asked.

Hermione jumped to her feet. "I'll show you where it is.." she volountered gladly.

As Giles and Hermione walked out of the commonroom, everyone took in the situation, not moving.

Ron stared at his paper and noticed that Hermione had not only corrected his mistakes, she has given him the answers. _I love her.._

Harry was looking at the guests. None of them seemed completely at peace. He couldn't blame them.

Xander was looking at the door of which Giles has exited. He wanted him to come back and say something wise.

He loved Buffy with all his heart, but she couldn't make him feel as safe as Giles could.

Buffy wasn't looking at anything og anyone in particular. Her mind was racing though. She needed to find somewhere private. Somewhere her friends couldn't see her fear. She was afraid.

Willow was the first to move. In a few strides, she went to sit next to Ron and Harry, looking at their parchments.

"What is this?" she asked them.

"Potions homework" Harry sighed.

Willow took a look at the questions. She knew some of these potions. Wolfsbane. Veritaserum

Her hand glided down the paper. Polyjuice Potion. She had brewed that one with Tara once.

At that very moment, she wanted to break out in tears. _Tara.. TARA.. I miss you so much._

Insted, she got to her feet and walked towards the fireplace. As she stood there with her back turned to everyone else, she allowed herself to close her eyes. It was the only way she could see her.

"Willow, are you alright?" Xander asked from across the room.

She wiped away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes before she turned around.

"Of course... Harry, would you show me the way to professor Snape's office?" she asked him kindly.

For a minutte, Harry and Ron stared at eachother.

Once Potions classes had ended they both stayed as far away from Snape as they possibly could. No reason seeking out trouble. Trouble usually found him anyway.

"I suppose," he shrugged. "I did begin to miss loosing points anyways."

He got off the couch to join her at the commonroom entrance before they exited together.

-----------

"I have to go to class now," Hermione told Giles. She had shown him the way and given him a short introduction to how he would find what he needed, and how to get back to the commonroom.

"yes.. yes. Thank you Hermione."

Giles was hardly paying attention to her words.

The books, though standing close on the shelves, were shivering and some were even on their way into his hands.

He had considered asking the librarian Madam Price for help to find the spell books, but she had looking rather unkind from a distance so he had no intention of getting closer.

_I will find it on my own..._

As he walked dows the ailes, he let his hand glide over the covers to find some of the books very dusty. He picked a few of them from the shelves, but none of them had anything to do with spells.

At book number ninety-seven, he wondered if he should give up for the day.

The clock said 3:43 PM.

He took yet another book from the shelf, promising himself that he would stop at book number hundred.

The book's cover was completely black and it had no obvious title.

Giles turned it, searching for some kind of information as to what it was about. Incable of finding any, he opened the book, coughing as the cloud of dust hit him.

It wasn't about spells, but about potions. The illustrations were scaring him. He wasn't exactly sure wether they should count as help or warning. He believed the latter to be more likely.

Giles went to sit down at a table nearby, to take a closer look at the book.

---------

The dungeons were dark and cold, and Harry couldn't believe that Willow had convinced him of showing her the way.

He promised himself that he would leave as soon as he had taken her to Snape's office.

As the two of them walked down the halls, Harry's thoughts were elsewhere.

He was thinking about his previous years at Hogwarts. So much had happened to him while he had been there, bad stuff, good stuff, deadly stuff, and he loved it. It was his home.

The place he felt most comfortable.

He though about Sirius. His godfather that he had gotten to know during his third year, and who had died in his fifth. They hadn't had enough time together.

He though about Voldemort. He had tried to kill Harry pretty much every school year, and Harry had walked away from it alive. Just like when he was a baby. _Must be born under a lucky star. Or a very unlucky one._

He thought about Ron and Hermione. His very best friends. Actually, they were the only ones he considered to be his friends at all.

Harry Potter, 16 years old, looked at the girl who was walking besides him. She too seemed to think about something else.

She was.

Willow Rosenberg's thoughts were kind of similar to Harry's. She also thought about the dangers she had incountered through the years. Ever since she had met Buffy really.

She regretted nothing though. She had the best of friends, she was a witch and she had felt true love. She wasn't sure if she would ever feel for a person what she felt for Tara. Willow doubted it.

"There it is," Harry said, breaking the silence. If he hadn't pointed to where the door was, Willow wasn't sure if she would have noticed it. It sort of blended into the wall.

"Thank you Harry. You don't have to stay," she told him with a grin. She had clealy felt his reluctantness.

Harry smiled at her. "You don't have to say that twice." As he walked away, he couldn't help but feel guilty, leaving her to deal with Snape all alone. He turned around to see her knock on the door.

----------

On the other side of the door, Severus Snape was sitting behind his desk, looking at the third year student's homework. It was awful, had they learnt absoloutely nothing?

Snape considered himself to be a good teacher. He tought for the teaching. He didn't need the students or the staff to like him. He couldn't care less.

He sighed and leaned back. Life wasn't easy. He was Dumbledore's spy, and he was Voldemort's spy. Well aware that his path would get him killed one day, he kept it going.

The knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He looked at the time. Who would want to speak with him at this time?

Probably one of the professor, since the students knew better than to bother him with silly questions.

"Enter!" he said loudly, and the heavy dungeon door opened.

As Willow Rosenberg walked through the door, her red hair blowing around her face, she reminded Snape of Lily Evans. The sudden resemblence took him by surprise.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked silent.

She didn't understand why he looked at her like that. Dumbledore had told him that they would work together on sending them home, hadn't he? _Apparently not._

Snape got to his feet, knocking down a few papers from the table as he did so. _damn._

"No. Come in ms. Rosenberg."

Willow stepped into the room. It was as dark and cold as the hall.

"I thought perhaps Dumbledore had..."

"Ah.. Yes. We spoke." Snape interrupted her. He turned his back to her and walked over to to the nearest bookshelf. Trying to avoid looking at her.

"So...?"

"What?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"Have you figured somthing out?" Willow asked. She went to sit down in a chair next to his desk. If the man was going to act weird, she might as well be comfortable.

"Not yet." Severus Snape sighed.

The woman behind him didn't answer, and for a minutte, Snape thought that she might have left, but when he turned around, there she was. Sitting at his desk. Legs crossed, arms resting on the chair.

In a sudden movement, her hands flew to clutch her head. Her eyes closed.

He was about to move to her side, when she spoke.

"Why can't I just remember?"

"Don't be stupid ms. Rosenberg. You were injured."

Willow opened her eyes slightly. His face didn't give away any emotion, neither had his voice.

She wished that someone would just yell at her. Tell her what she did was wrong. She knew she was powerful. Way too powerful, and Tara had warned her. They all had.

And now she had sent them into a whole new world, leaving Sunnydale without protection, killing the people she cared about. Anya.. Angel.. Even Cordelia. And Spike. He hadn't deserved it either, being a victim of the Hellmouth.

Willow sighed and straightened in the seat.

"Is there anything we can do in the meanwhile?"

Snape crossed his arms. He had given it some thought since they had visited the woman in the hospital wing the previous day.

"I will brew some memory potions. Hopefully they will trigger your memory so you can remember the spell. That is all we can do for now."

Willow nodded and got to her feet. "I'll return when they are ready then."

When Willow Rosenberg had closed the door behind her, leaving the office, she leaned against it and let the tears flow.

----------

Darkness was setting over Hogwarts as students and teachers had gathered in the Great Hall to eat dinner. The only ones missing were Giles and Willow.

"Where are they?" Xander asked Buffy who was sitting on the other side of the table. They were both looking at Harry and Hermione.

"We don't know" Harry said for the third time. "I told Willow how to get back."

"And I told Mr. Giles the same thing" Hermione said. "Perhaps, when dinner is over, we should go look for them.."

"No need," Ron chimed in. He pointed towards the entrance where Willow and Giles were walking in together, locked in conversation eventhough most of the students were staring at them.

When they reached the table, both of them sat down and started eating without saying a word.

"Excuse us.. where have you been?" Xander asked, staring from one to the other.

Giles swallowed the bread he was eating and cleared his throat.

"I was looking around the library for some sort of clue,"

"All day?" Xander interrupted.

Rubert Giles sent the boy a stern look. "No Xander, not all day. I met Willow on the way back, and we talked for a while before coming here."

Buffy glanced at Willow to see the hopelessness in her eyes.

"He didn't have an answer?" she asked her.

Willow looked at her best friend and smiled. "We'll be fine."


	4. Chapter 4

A harry potter/buffy the vampire slayer crossover.

_disclaimer - I don't own anything (sigh) Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to the talented Joss Whedon, and the  
Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
This is merely my attempt to write down what goes on inside my head (:  
Please Read & Review_

Chapter 4.

The huge trees sorrounded Buffy as she stretched, getting ready to train.

She would meet Giles later, but she had promised herself to begin the training alone. She needed the peace and quiet for a while.

Clear her head. The voices, she had heard that night in the hallway, had really freaked her out.

She had been crazy once, hell, she had been dead twice, and yet, all this happened to her. Sent to a completely different world, and she was still haunted.

It hardly seemed fair. Buffy laid down on the ground and began doing sit-ups.

The bright morning light shone down on her, making the sweat on her body glitter. It was still early dawn, and the weather was chilly, but her pumping heart kept her body warm.

She sat on the ground, thinking. It felt like she had forgotten something. _That's right Buffy.. forgotten.._

The sudden voice in her head made her crumble.. "No, no, no," she cried, clutching her head.

Buffy rolled over and pushed her body off the ground with her hands. Doing push-ups, made the voices dissapear for a while.

Thirty-four, thirty-five, and she collapsed on the ground.

Sweat was covering her entire body, and eventhough some was getting in her eyes, she was too exhausted to do anything about it.

The ground was surprisingly soft, and lying on it, felt like lying on a bed. For a second, Bufy thought that she indeed had never left her bed and fluffy pillows in Sunnydale behind, until she heard Giles' voice above her.

"What are you doing down there?"

Buffy pushed her knees and palms against the dirt, jumping to her feet. Standing in front of her Watcher, she roughly brushed off the dirt on her clothes.

"Training, of course. What did you expect?"

Giles smiled at the girl in front of him. Well, she was hardly a girl anymore. She was a young woman.

A slayer.

The Slayer.

"Good. Saves us some time. We can begin to work on your balance."

"Giles, I can run up a wall, backflip over a vampire and land on my feet. I believe my balance is just fine."

"Balance is more than staying on your feet Bufy."

As Giles had finished his sentence, he grabbed a branch from the earth, and swung it at the girl.

The branch was about to hit her on the shoulder, but she reflected it with her hand. As it launched at her leg, she stepped aside and yanked the branch out of Giles' hand.

"You are getting quick."

Buffy smiled and crushed the piece of wood.

The Slayer and her Watcher kept training, fighting until they both were completely exhausted.

Both of them sat and watched the sky.

The sun was shining upon them and the weather was getting hotter. The day had truly begun.

That's why the appearing clouds ought to have been the first warning sign, but neither of them sensed the danger until a piercing scream sounded from the castle.

* * *

Xander Harris opened his eyes and he squinted at the morning light shining bright on his face.

He moved his limps and heard them give a cracking sound.

They had spent two nights at the castle, and he had had two nightmares.

It wouldn't surprise him if he had tossed around but noone had tried to wake him.

Xander yawned and sat up in the bed, resting again the frame. The other boys in the room were not awake yet, and Xander enjoyed the silence.

It gave him time to think. Think about the nightmares, still imprinted on his mind.

The first one had been about Willow, so had the second one.

That day had returned to him in his sleep. The day where Bufy had been shot by Warren, and Tara had died.

It was that day he saw Willow walk into the OR, hair and eyes turned black, and magically remove the bullet from Buffy's heart.

The three friends had left the room together, Buffy alive in spite of her heart failing seconds earlier.

At that time, they knew nothing of Tara's fate. Someone had found her body. But, who?

Xander loathed Warren for what he had done. He had not only killed a friend, almost killed another and wrecked a third. He had ruined everything. He deserved what Willow did to him.

Xander studied the palms of his hands and tried to imagine what it would be like to feel the sort of power that Willow had felt flow through her.

A snore, from the bed next to his, tore him out of his thoughts. The boy in the bed was Harry Potter. Xander had noticed that he too was haunted in his dreams.

In his sleep, he muttered names in agony. Xander believed the people to be dead. Sirius, Cedric. And the ones that hurt Xander the most. Mum. Dad.

Having only stayed at Hogwarts for two days, Xander knew that there was still a whole lot of information they had not been told yet, but he could sense the fear from the students and teachers.

He wondered if it had anything to do with himself and his friends.

Having nothing to do, Xander got out of bed and walked to the window.

He hadn't even noticed that the sunlight was dissapearing. Clouds were surrounding the sun and there was a slight sound of thunder in the distance.

The only thing Xander could think was that it would be a shame if it would begin to rain.

That's when he twirled around at the sound of a scream, waking everyone from their sleep.

* * *

On a bench outside, a girl was meditating. Buffy had told her to go back to sleep, but she had insisted and parted with her friend as soon as they set foot outside.

She would soon walk back to the castle to meet Flitwick before breakfast and discuss the spell. Not that she saw any purpose as she still couldn't remember anything.

Finishing her morning meditation she got to her feet and began her way back.

Trusting herself, she closed her eyes and let her mind lead the way.

Walking, she recalled her meeting with Snape. Now, there was a haunted man. It scared her a bit not to remember, but she feared what she might discover.

She had told buffy that she had not turned evil, but in reality, she wasn't so sure, and seeing Snape examine her every expression made her doubt herself even more.

What had actually happened in the lab?

Her mind was racing as she slowly passed the trees.

Her feet were bare and the soft grass was yielding under her feet. Willow smiled.

What hadn't Tara wanted to give to see a place like Hogwarts.

It was truly a magical place in more ways than one.

Once, she had compared her and Tara's relationship to that of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett.

It had been a love story alright, but with so many obsticals it had been unbearable at times.

But she was more than convinced that even in two hundered years time, their love would still be alive.

The texture under the soles of her feet had changed and when she opened her eyes, Flitwick's office door was in front of her.

She knocked and waited for him to call enter, then she opened the door and strode into the room.

"Now, Ms. Rosenberg, please concentrate." Flitwick told the girl in front of him.

She was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and her hands resting on her knees.

Willow tried to focus on her breathing. In, out. In, out.

Her heartbeat slowed down and she found herself standing in the chemistry lab once again. She saw herself sitting on the floor while Xander, panicky, pushed cabinets in front of the door.

As if that will help anything, she thought.

Now that she experienced it over again, she couldn't believe that she had ever found peace to do the spell in the first place.

There was so much noise. Battle sounds coming from the other side of the walls. Her loved ones in danger.

"I love you" Xander told her. Sweet, sweet Xander.

She loved him so much. Once, they had tried to make it work, but no. They were only meant to be friends. Best friends.

Nothing would ever change that.

"Focus on the spell Ms. Rosenberg," she heard Flitwick say in the distance.

As the scene changed, her hearbeat quickened and she felt a shortness of breath. She wasn't quite sure if it was real, or just a part of her imagination.

Willow saw herself chant and she listened to the words, but they made no sense to her. It was as if she was saying one thing, but another came over her lips.

Blue smoke filled the room and she could no longer see herself or Xander.

Willow's eyes flew open and she began coughing as she felt the smoke fill her lungs.

She couldn't breathe. Her eyes were open but she could see nothing. All darkness.

"Ms. Rosenberg?!" Flitwick exclaimed. Willow felt his tiny hands shake her, trying to bring her back.

The door opened and she heard a person stride through the room.

"Severus! Thank God.. I don't.." Flitwick said, but apparently interrupted.

Snape placed a palm on her neck, giving her support as he made her drink from a vial. The liquid had a bitter taste to it, but it made the feeling of drowning dissapear.

Within seconds, her heartbeat went back to normal and she opened her eyes to find Snape kneeling beside her.

He turned his head to look at the small professor who was cluthing his hands.

"Go get Madam Pomfrey," he said, but Willow interrupted and assured him that she was fine.

"I guess I just wasn't ready to try something like that yet," she said silently. More to herself than to anyone.

"Don't worry about it miss Rosenberg. We will try later, when you feel ready." Flitwick smiled, though he still looked worried that she might collapse at any moment.

And she did.

Willow felt her body, not longer supported by Snape, fall to the ground.

Not darkness this time but a bright memory that wasn't her own.

She stared at a dark figure above her, looking down on her, pointing a wand at her.

A woman with long, bright red hair was lying on the floor and Willow knew what the woman was dead. The cloacked figure had murdered her and now it was her turn to be killed.

"Avada Kadavra" the figure exclaimed and a green light emerged from the wand, hitting Willow.

In Flitwick's office, the two professors watched in horror as the woman in front of them opened her eyes, pitch black, and began to scream.


End file.
